13 May 2012

Rumours are rife that Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish is set to stand down after the club's final home game against Swansea this afternoon, with Wigan Manager Roberto Martinez hotly tipped replace him. Earlier this week, Latics Chairman Dave Whelan made it clear that he would not stand in the way of the Spaniard moving on to a a 'top European club', but Martinez himself has reacted angrily to speculation linking him with a move away from the club.

Martinez is the odds-on favourite to be Liverpool's next manager, and when asked yesterday about the speculation linking with him with the job, the Premier League's youngest manager seemed to emphatically dismiss the possibility:

"There hasn’t been an official approach. I am the manager of an incredible football club and any talk of other clubs – ­especially when there is nothing on the table – is extremely disrespectful.

"If one day that’s a decision that needs to be made, then I would look at it, but it’s not the case at the moment. There has been talk in the press, but I have another three years on my contract and I don’t see it as an issue at all".

Realistically, what else is Martinez going to say? Martinez is and always has been a very respectful manager, and he's not going to publicly express interest in the job. Having said that, the Spaniard's statement is arguably quite revealing:

* Confirmation of no official approach yet.* He would consider the a move away at some point.

If the Liverpool job became available, would Martinez be a serious candidate, or should the Reds look elsewhere?

* Young, energetic, Premier League experienced manager* Progressive and tactically aware approach to football.* Sets his teams up to play positive attacking football.* Set the template for Swansea's superb style.* Affable, respectful and good with the media.

The worst thing that could happen is Kenny as Director of Football.Given the players he asked to be bought it would be a disaster.Additionally he would over shadow Martinez and the dumb fans would start calling his name when things go wrong again.Clean Break with DALGLISH if he has any role it needs to be purely Ambassadorial (Which is what Rafa did when he brought him back).

martinez? also steve kean would be a good appointment!!! please this is nonsense we need a top class manager who has managed before big teams and won things, martinez could only keep wigan up thats it, wont believe fsg are that naive to go and get him, that would be scandalous, we would see half of wigan players at lfc next season.

Mr. John Henry & Mr. Tom Werner please put the interests of LFC above any individual and kindly relieve Kenny Dalglish of his duties. LFC has regressed since the days we had Rafael Benefit in charge. Kenny Dalglish has dragged this prestigious club through the mud with Suarez racism issue and his annoying dogmatic approach to the media. He's wasted a huge sum of money on average players. If unfortunately Kenny Dalglish is not relieved of his duties then he should do the honourable most thing and resign.

If Liverpool are to build a new dynasty on top of the EPL then it has to be with a young clever manager who could spend 10 to 15 years in the seat.Weather or not Martinez is that man remains to be seen but Liverpool need this kind of manager.

He could be good if he has the funds, he would have been limited with Wigan and Swansea, he is a young manager and he probably has fresh ideas, who really knows?.On a different note hey Jamie what do you think of having someone like Sessegnon as an attacking midfielder, i personally like him he is quick, strong and is creative not to mention he can score goals? how much do you think he would go for if he was to leave Sunderland?

beat liverpool without spending 120 million for a start ...Martin would be a far cheaper option than rafa...i think we need a fresh man with fresh ideas who doesnt put blind faith in the old stars....why isnt coates playing today...he needs experiance

I am old school and used to watch kk play, I had major concerns that emotion would play a part in bringing him back. It is 50/50 whether he is given more time or he will voluntarily step aside or risk being dare I say sacked. It really cuts deep watching us get nowhere week after week and then have kenny pipe up and say we created lots of chances but scored no goals. Yes Martinez has a lot to prove so realistically why would we hire him? Having said that look at the reaction from Newcastle fans who even now cannot believe that Alan Pardew has got them playing some great football, so an experienced coach does not guarantee anything either.

For the majority of the season, Wigan have been extremely poor and that is partly Martinez's fault. Only the last few matches have Wigan have been performing and on the basis of only 5 or so matches that he's done well I wouldn't like to see him at Anfield.

He ain't no king.....just a selfish man who has took advantage of his legendary status.....Liverpool is bigger than him and all the other great that have come before him and those that will come after him...

If he loved Liverpool...he should have resigned by now and admitted he messed up but instead he thinks its exciting times under him....

He deserves the sack now for his stubbornness....he shouldn't be allowed to resign he should be sacked..

rafa wanted players like this if reports over the years are to be believed: Jovetic - dani alves before he went to barca. these are the type of players who could have made a real difference. instead hicks and gillet didn't inset anything and he had to wheel and deal, which is why we ended with jovanovic, voronin, degen etc. He got reina, alonso, mascherano, torres, skrtel. the back bone of a strong team. i'd like rafa back cos now we have owners who can invest a bit and therefore rafa will be able to get better quality through the door....He got us to 2nd one season. really close. needed the investment to kick on but got nothing. He is very astute tactically and we had plenty of good european nights under his leadership. yeah he is strict, but we didn't do this poor under him. so strict works, so theres no slacking - like losing to fulham, wigan and so forth.There won't be as many of these situations:If your tactics are wrong, change them. It's better to admit a mistake, which we all make, rather than persist - FA CUP final.Over paying for british players. their prices are high anyway, but we over paid beyond belief. For the cost of Carroll, Henderson and downing (£75m approx) we could have bought 5 or 6 good players from around europe. Look at BA and Cisse at newcastle. Cabaye. Sigurdson at swansea, for example. they would prob have cost us £30m. That leaves £40m for two higher profile signings. What are our scouts doing? or were they briefed on scouting only british?Theres loads of quality in europe and plenty that would still come to LFC, but not if we keep sliding down the league. We need to get back into champs league AND actually fight for title. end of. Rafa can do this with the funds. Not many top managers around AND available. Dalglish is a legend. no doubt. has steadied a sinking ship. but he has taken us as far as possible. Carling cup win in poor fashion. struggled to win that. didn't turn up to fa cup for 65mins. poor consistency in the league. the players need a rocket up their backsides, not mollycoddling like he appears to do. Losing to fulham at home, wigan, qpr is thoroughly unacceptable .Rafa will target Jovetic, vargas, falcao, christian eriksen, ramirez, munain - quality players that can make a difference in a big way to our squad and season next term.

I think that martinenz would be a refreshing change his signings have been exellent at wigan so with a higher budget and wages than at wigan he is sure to sign better players also the attaking football and the belief that he gives his players is incredible but everyone talks about how good liverpool fans are but I really don't think that we get behind the manager enough if martinez is appointed he will need time and it wont help for fans to start calling for his head after a couple of defeats

Problem is, people have short memories. I say keep Dalglish. Any new manager will want his own players brought in which costs more money and does not guarantee success.

If a free agent needs to be brought in, what about Unai Emery? He's young, Valencia played exciting football with decent players under him and regularly made it into the Champions league. The main reason he didn't do better is that he couldn't compete with Real Madrid and Barcelona on a financial basis.

So what's the evidence that he set-up the attacking philosophy that Brendan has now adopted? Is it not possible that they co-incidentally play the same way? Is it not possible that the 2 are mutually exclusive? I guess the best manager for LFC should be you! You should make a flawless coach to hire.

Could anyone explain me how is it possible that a Manager Who was in charge of smaller CLubs like Swansea & Wigan, He's a suitable candidate for LFC Job??????? Martinez's top achievement is to avoid the relegation with Wigan.... He's not the experience, He's not a suitable CV, He's not ready to match the pressure at LFC and the huge expectations of LFC's fan base, He can't definitely replace a top manager like Dalglish Who won three titles and Fa Cup twice. In add, Martinez never manager a dressing room with plenty of top players. Kenny is talking about future tranfer plans in our web site: I reasonably think that's a sign that Kenny will stay to bring on the rebuilding process, but If Martinez is the Owners' choice, They are simply fool. They have no intention to invest heavily next summer, so Why They should turn to a inexperienced manager, Who would surely need to spend big to reshape a squad builded by Dalglish.CLUB NEEDS STABILITY, AND THE THIRD MANAGER IN THREE SEASONS' TIME IS NOT THE STABILITY THEY PROMISED.

i would like kd to take a sidestep now. martinez?? i'm not sure, but who else is there? we are operating from a mediocre position, that attracts mediocre players. a touch of realism is maybe needed now.

Ideally, you would like to see him do better at a slightly bigger club before Liverpool but he would be a bold choice.

Something people have to bear in mind is that for every 2nd half of the season recovery, he is also responsible for a 1st half meltdown.

There are a lot of potentially good choices out there, but we have to be careful. AVB is an option and whilst I feel Chelsea were the wrong club for him and he was undermined, he made a lot of fundemental errors.

Van Gaal is unemployed and has to be an option for manager or DoF surely. Produces great sides and it would be nice if he could set that template for our youngsters. I don't see why we can't get an executive a la Daniel Levy to negotiate and have a football man to pinpoint players and set a footballing agenda. It seems the problem with Comolli was his negotiating rather than his knowledge (if we believe Dalglish picked the players).

That is why it is important we get a Martinez, a Van Gaal or an AVB who could set a template of excellent attacking football.

It had to end with a defeat. Rubbish players, results, tactics and - I'm sorry to say - manager. Twelve months ago I had a hell of a lot for respect for KD but not any more. The fact is that he's made an absolute fool of himself. Sack him if he won't go. Trouble is that whoever takes over will be left with all the dross KD bought. Next season will be even worse than this in all probability. The damage he's done with his wasted millions will take ages to put right. Sad. Very sad.

There is much talk about us being unable to attract the top top players, like Hazard and Cavani. But if you look at Newcastle (only recently promoted) and then further back into the past, West Ham, who were able to attract Mascherano and Tevez, there are top players out there, who don't cost the earth that could do a job and will play for Liverpool. Maybe Man City would not go for this second tier with their financial might, but some of these players are first teamers - this is the market we need to be looking at.

I'm hoping that the plan to buy British was a deliberate ploy for last summer and that the focus of this season will be foreigners with flair. My only worry is that the transfer budget is greatly reduced compared to last summer.

But what about the first 30 games of the season, surely he needed to change something before then? Martinez is a guy who has faced nothing but relegation battles in the Premier League.

The fact that he has a small budget and Wigan is a small club doesn't quite cut it for me because with the same players and same resources that he's manufactured 7 victories in the last 9 games, playing good attacking football, he should have been able to produce better results in the first 3/4s of the season.

Recruiting Martinez could be a stroke of genius, but it is no doubt a huge risk. We know Dalglish is not the long-term solution, but to replace him with a manager who has a win percentage of 26% (despite having a decent team) and no relevant credentials could be catastrophic. I would be more convinced if he had Wigan punching above their weight. Why then are there no rumours about Brendan Rogers or even Alan Pardew? (Don't worry, I'm not recommending them for the post.)

Do that and you will regret the rest of your life why you want mediocrity at Liverpool. To be a Liverpool manager it takes more than just a few wins over the big teams. Unless you want your team to be fighting relegation like Wigan dream on.

Pity many of you don't understand what you're saying. In just 18 months you expect Liverpool to be challenging for 4th yet they have been teams that have been established. Tactical ability my Ass we got that alot from Rafa what did we win? Playing a defensive team at home to Hull, Stoke, Birmingham is what you call tactical ability.

They own the club but they need to understand that we can't just buy our success especially a club that was about to go into administration. You're all looking at the smallest part of the problem that is the football on the pitch. KK has done alot of good work to deserve another season.

Winning is born with the person. If Paisley didnt' win anything he managed to create winners in Paisley, Fagan and KK. And FYI Guardiola won with Barca as a player and that creates a winning mentality.

Hehehehe that is what am thinking too he has spent all his time in relegation and just because he had a few wins off the big boys and now everyone thinks he can handle Liverpool. It will be a case like AVB and he won't even last a season. KK is a man who will say Gerrad you're not playing and thats it.

You're right Jaimie, none of these managers had achieved much before becoming first team managers. But you must take into account that both Paisley and Fagan had been part of the old boot room. Shankley, as we all know was highly successful, and actually groomed Paisley for management, Fagan was appointed his assistant and eventually took the reigns when Paisley retired. So Liverpool by then had become an institution, they were winners and the notions of winning and success were ingrained.

As for Pep, he came up through the Barcelona system as a player and a B team manager, with who he won promotion. Furthermore, look at the players he inherited - Valdez, Marquea, Xavi, Inesta, Henry, Eto'o with a young Messi waiting in the wings. He was so confident in his team, he could afford to offload talents like Ronaldinho, Deco and Thuram.

Unfortunately, similar credentials cannot be attributed to Martinez. This is too much of a risk. If this is the way FSG decide to go, I would have grave concerns about their decision making and approach to the club.

Kenny has to go, too many bad results this season, i think henderson, downing and spearing should not have started in the fa cup. Shelvey should have played with kuyt and maxi. The signings we bought are over priced and average at best. Can't blame kenny, hodgeson's appointment was a massive step backwards. Players have to be responsible but the buck stops at kenny. Must be some other options not sure if they will knock on rafa's door! Did like rikard not sure if he has done enough to put his name in the hat?

I can understand people saying Kenny has to go but to replace him with martinez? Its going back to what we did with hodgson expect martinez is spanish.

The fault lies with the owners, for all the talk of structure, strategem, templates they have not followed any. Damien Comolli was unproven yet he and KK were allowed to spend over a 100 million on players perhaps not worth a tenth of that. Hence there wasnt any check and balance in place to ask the question - why?

Hence now after the horse has bolted all sorts of rash decisions are being made. I wasnt in favour of the hicks and gillet regime and neither have FSG filled me with confidence. To do well in this league requires a blank chequebook, the history of chelsea and now City show this. The exceptions to this rule are arsenal who have a wonderful manager who can pull the rabit out of the hat time and time again on a very low budget - however he wont win anything either until investment comes back again.

The way forward is for a man with a track record being bought in to see who KK envisages next season at anfield. And if we think there is going to be more mediocrity bought then is the time to let him go.

And before martinez certainly one rafa benitez deserves a second chance after all in recent times he had us playing some wonderful football and even now his purchases are our best players.

I think you need to realise what that you don't understand what you're saying. Most of your anti-Rafa posts are just plain wrong. If he was given the support from the board maybe he could have afforded a better backup than Ngog. Kenny has been backed financially and Rafa's tactics clearly showed that he played to the players abilities. The point as well of playing 2 dms is one will cover the other and it also allows the full backs to attack. It works well for Uruguay and many other teams. Also when he got the team playing the way he wanted with the right personnel we played MUCH better football than we have this year. 4-1 at United and 4-0 to Real in the same week. Finished as top scorers that year. This year Blackburn outscored us, and hitting the woodwork is not bad luck - it's bad finishing. In 12 months of Rafa we won the Champions league and THERE WERE SIGNS OF PROGRESS, especially with players signed such as Alonso and Garcia. With £120m spent (and the fact that £75m was recouped doesn't change the fact that he had £120m to spend and spent it largely on dross or overpaid for others) there are no signs of progress. Our Defensive coach was at West Ham last year - they went down!!!

Level on points with Fulham is not progress after £120m spent. Kenny can no longer handle the pressure - clear with his press interviews, and is not up to date with tactics, he just hopes changing a like for like player with another (similar to Harry Redknapp) will make a goal -- never changes tactics during a game until it's too late or change tactics to stop opponents strengths.

Also, he is the one who made Gerrard and Carragher into the players they are. Gerrard was never scoring as much before or after Rafa as he was when Rafa was here. And the two dm's allowed Gerrard to shine - Rafa realised he did not have the discipline to sit in CM and was better playing just behind a CF. Since Kenny came back Gerrard is a shadow of his former self. Of course the injuries haven't helped but you'd expect more but he is being played too deep!

caroll and henderson they are young and england need some fresh blood(good initiatives). But adam and downing its poor signing. We could have obtained better players. Look at juventus, came back as a champion. But you point out about benitez, that guy did an amazing job. We got the best of carragher and gerrard. We got johnson, skrtel, agger,lucas,mascherano,alonso,arbeloa,maxi,kuyt,aquilani,insua, shelvey...pepe reina as goalkeeper. If u think, the best players came from benitez or moulded by him. He was scouting some very good players like javi martinez, aguero and think some others.If he comes, he knows the club and the grandeur of the club. Had a good relationship with gerrard and carragher and will boost reina. He would need to use some of the players and he would work his way out.

HEK80 I would like to see the stats on the Gerrard scoring rate with Rafa compared to Houlier I would imagine they were much the same but there were probably more spectacular goals under GH although that might be a figment as well.

Never wanted Kenny and certainly dont want Martinez they both can do one, they're are rubbish and not good enough for a club the size of LFC, In fact I would question FSG motives if they appointed a relegtion standard manager

Rafa a far better manager than both of them put together, at least he wont stand on the side line scratching his head like a clueless chimp, because he ain't got a clue what to do tactically to change a game with out the assistance of Steve Clarke, in fact is number 2 don't seem much help either

Wow it has taken me an age to read all the opinions on here and there are alot with great passion for the club we all love!I have alot of experience in football myself and see the game objectively until it comes to Liverpool because I am a fan!I love KK and always will as a player and at times as a manger and for what he did when the club needed him. Right now my gut tells me that KK has had his time and maybe the game has moved on since he was last manager. How we change is the hardest fact right now!Rafa, I think would be great for us. I know that if he was given 110 mil he would not have brought in the players we have now. Yes sometimes Rafa is over the top with his tactic´s but right now the biggest developing football system right now in Europe is 4-2-3-1 which is the system that Rafa has played for years! I think Rafa can take the current squad and still achieve more than we have. We need to keep Steve Clarke, I know he is part of the system right now but he is highly respected coach in the game. The special one wanted to take him to Inter with him! But if not Rafa then who?Martinez is an excellent manager with huge potential and has the balls to change formations when it is needed. Yes, just like with the 5-3-2 system he has used over the last 9 games. If the owners go down that route and say, we will give him time, then I would love to see him in. I think with Clarke as Head coach, then we could really have a team in place to take us to a higher level. He would need time but I would be happy to see a team working hard and playing creative, attacking football! Yes, he is inexperienced with a big club but if I am right so was Fergie! Martinez is someone who likes to build something. He did this at Swansea and now at Wigan. Yes, it has been hard for him there but he lost players again before the season started. If you watched the games they were unlucky in a lot! There second half of the season Wigan have out performed Liverpool with so called lesser players....Fact or Not? Actually, did they not beat us? If he took the job massive that it is and us the supporters, the players (who get paid to much and need to also take responsibility) get behind him then we could make a New History for our great club.NWA

I didn't forget. We played it a few times under Rafa too. I'm not saying they invented the tactic. I'm just saying that Martinez showed an ability to think outside of the box. A poorer manager, Steve Bruce for example, gets in a rut and hasn't the imagination to break out of it.

You make a fair point, I've made the point about people letting him get away with how poor they are in the first half of the season in a post below.

It is a huge risk undoubtedly. I would personally prefer someone with a better track record but I think that Martinez could be an interesting and long-term choice. I wouldn't be disappointed if we got him, let me put it that way.

Unlike many, I could easily countenance Dalglish staying on for another year. I think there is no clear obvious option in the way there was when we got rid of Houllier and Mourinho and Rafa were both available.

It'd be nice to get Klopp, but I'm not convinced he'd be interested. Pellegrini has predictably got Malaga into the CL. We should have hired him instead of Hodgson.

That number two won titles with Mour guess you know why we have not been conceding. Why would you jump to conclusion that KK needs to be replaced by a manager who has spent all his football career fighting relegation. The signs are there that under KK things will be better you don't want to see them. Man City has just won their title and you do recall they were bought in 2008 those are 4years down the road why on earth would you want KK to do it in 18months.

The waiting list ensures that season tickets will be sold. The price freeze ensures season tickets will be sold. The fact most of us can think of nothing else to do with our lives ensures season tickets will be sold.Three months without the drug of seeing the Redmen ensures season tickets will be sold.

Thank you. Couldn't agree more. Can't believe people are saying Rodgers or Lambert either. They may become good coaches but lets give them some time before appointing anyone and wait until they achieve something other than avoiding relegation. Bet these were the same people that were saying we should get Coyle after one decent season at Bolton, or Mcleish after one good year at Birmingham. Both went down the very next season!

Yes. From 2 time La Liga Champion, to a journeyman (who never won anything but has somehow managed to get the England job), to a Legend coming out of retirement, to a relegation avoiding battler. The perpetual downfall is Depressing.

If every time we have an average season we sack the manager we will achieve zilch. Continuity, stability and a long term plan is the model for success not changing managers along with buying and selling lots of players. Dalglish hasn't had a great season but it was only his first full season at the helm, he at least has the team playing attractive football and he has a unity in the dressing room. Surely they are two very important factors in building success, we only have to look at AVB at Chelsea to see that if you lose the dressing room everything else falls apart. Every manager needs time to get it right, sacking them after such a short space of time will only set the rebuilding plan back another few years. If Mancini had been sacked by City because he failed to achieve their objectives in his first season despite spending millions then they probably would not have won the title today.

To be honest. No top manager in Europe is going to touch Liverpool at the moment. It's a poisoned chalice. Klopp, Mourinho, Capello, Wenger, Hynekes, forget them all. They all want Champions League and to them Liverpool are a mid table club.

To be honest, our only options are appointing a young, unproven manager like Martinez, or bringing back Rafa. Rafa is the only top manager in Europe who would manage us. I know some of you don't like him but he was probably the best manager we had in a long time. You all point to his time in charge of Inter, but how have they gone the last two years without him? He's a good manager, with some human flaws. At the very least he bought some great players, which is half the battle of being a manager anyway.I don't think anyone could do a worse job than Dalglish, though. Change is desperately needed.

Take a chance on Martinez. Forget our history and start creating it instead? Or hope that Rafa is indeed the man to turn it around. Whatever the case, for FSG to do nothing would be hugely disappointing.

I've never quite understood why Martinez picks up all his points in the second half of the season. But, given better players, you'd rather he became stronger towards the end that faded away. To me, that shows he instills his side with belief. Maybe I do understand.

Martinez will not be able to handle just like Hodgson, either give Kenny one more season and if we have to replace him then only person I can think of at the moment is Rafa, although I am not a fan of his but he would be able to help Liverpool compete with the other big clubs in the league which right now Kenny is not able to do.

Good point Simon, we allowed the former owners to sack Rafa without reason because they were always on his case. Rafa is and will be a legend coach alongside Shankley, Paisley....He will know what to do with flops KD has brought to the club, Kenny out!

How can you comprehend Kenny being Director of Football? He does not follow ant football, thus his reason to spend all that money on British flops, KD has to be out of any decision making role. He is a flop..Rafa in and there will be no Director of Fottball...no manager will agree to be over-ruled by someone else, and I heavily believe that Rafa will be back.

Dalglish should be given time... if we stick with a manager and give him time, then he will improve things. so Martinez is for future but right now , we shoudl stop sacking our managers one after others.

In them 4 years man city changed managers who were a mistake.....notably Mark Hughes who was paying over the odds for players who were clearly not worth it...just like kd...yes kd got one or two good signing like hughes but overall is a failure like Hughes mancini

Look at Hughes signing and compare them to mancini signing and you'll see why they won the title.....

the italian league is shite ? FOOLGLISH has destroyed are football club !!! and the pr*ck needs SACKING ASAP...Are midfield is know better than wigans ? henderson spearing downing,f*ck right off FOOLGLISH ???? and take these pr*cks with you :{

Of all people I would have backed JK to not be interested in replacing Dalglish with Martinez. This is because of the interest he takes in stats. 23% games won while manager of Wigan. Fans are so fickle and JK I expected better from you. It is a lot different managing Liverpool than managing your Wigans and Swanseas. Yes, Martinez has done an admirable job getting Wigan out of trouble but that doesn't mean he deserves the Liverpool job. I would take Benitez over him any day for the simple fact that Rafa has won titles and the biggest prize that club football has to offer in the European Cup......... And whats with blocking me again and again? You can at least give me a warning or give me reasons at least.

If i was running Lfc i would bring in andre villas boas to work with the staff and players now and after next season give him the job.I firmly believe he would take Liverpool to new heights.OK you think I'm mad but at Liverpool there are no prima,we are great players,donnas like terry,lampard and drogba telling the manager what to do.We have a neucleus of young players who would probably respond to a young coach and start learning the game the modern way.I believe this is the way forward for Lfc ,or we could continue stuck in the rut of appointing managers who have an idea of how the game should be played but ultimately falling short of europe's top table.I think this would be the progress that everybody talks about, but I personally do not see any evidence of progress.Surely progress would be fighting for a top four place, when is that going to happen anytime soon? We are so far behind the mancs ,Arsenal and spurs it is getting fu#@ing ridiculous. A different approach is needed particularly to coaching and scouting and if FSG cannot see this then maybe they should be mutual consented.YNWA

To sum it up, 2011/12 season crap. But it's over now so let wipe the sheet clean and look forward to a fresh start. A few new additions and we should be sorted. Please can we stop washing our smalls in public. Mr Dalglish is not a bad manager we just haven't had lady luck on our side for once. So lets stop disrespecting the Kenny who has given his all to make us better and behide him and support the club.

Rafa won the champions league with Gerard houlier team in case you don't remember. He spent a lot of money foolishly also but no one talks about that. He lost alonso over trying to sign Gareth Barry to replace him and things started to go downhill badly when he lost his assistant Paco. Kenny hasn't managed a team in a long time and no one expects miracles but unless you lay a foundation you can't move on up which we haven't done this year. He did break alot of records but not in the way you would want to be breakiing them. We finished only 38 points off fhe leaders and only 4 points above swansea who were promoted last year. I would be hoping kenny will do the right thing and move upstairs and maybe Brendan rogers might not be a bad choice as manager.

In managerial terms who was Roberto di matteo until he took Chelsea to the champions league final?The KK we see in interviews is very monotone. We can all see the team has been weakened at the cost of depth in the squad. I read C Bellamy say that the team he played in at LFC 1st time round was stronger. The only reason i would like Rafa back, is his personality may help us secure some of the best talent [the majority of which is Spanish]. Players will still sign for big managers....Fact [sorry couldn't resist]

Where did I say I wanted Martinez to take over? I just stated that he's a viable candidate, which he is. Everything is relative - when you look at Wigan's win percentage, the question that needs to be asked is this: Given Wigan's resources, and the quality of player they can attract, what is the best win percentage they could hope for? 23% is - relatively speaking - about right, and if you compare that with other teams similar to Wigan, you'll see very similar percentages.

You were blocked because of your constant sniping/derogatory comments. I will unblock your other account, and any further insults/bitching about the site etc then I'll have no choice but to block you again.

Agree fully. I can't believe some fans would rather Martinez over Rafa! KD has to go but there is no point if he is not replaced by someone superior. Maybe Martinez is but he needs to prove it first, and no offence to Wigan, but at a better club.

Alex McLeish is about to be sacked, Martinez who turned it down last season is favourite and Paul Lambert second. So if they want Martinez they need to move quick.From the day he sold Alonso and bought Aquilani Rafa's career went downhill. He lost the dressing room, he overloaded the coaching staff, he signed countless no marks from Hungary, Sweden, France Spain etc who never got past the reserves and gave the club a colossal wage bill. He got rid of Steve Heighway and sent the Youth development programme back a decade. He was a disaster at Inter Milan and hasnt worked since. Rafa will never come back, living in the past is why this club has gone the way it has.

For all those calling for RAFA to come back - i would just like to find out what your theories are as to what RAFA did at Inter after leaving LFC. How do you take a team flying on top - winning almost everything including the CL and then take them down in a few months of taking over???

a) Immediately after Mourinho....poisoned chalice....just like the Chelsea job was/is....

b) He was given very little time - ageing players needed replacing. Rafa went in there with fresh ideas. He would have succeeded in time (arguable point I know). Also, they didn't exatly back him in the transfer market, he was given little in the way of funds so was forced to use youth.

c) They were a club who over-achieved under Mourinho and that season was a freak...

Look where they are now...4 managers down the line from Mourinho and still fooked...people may link that to Rafa, but it isn't true.

When did I make any derogatory comments? I once just said that you ought to proof-read your articles. Isn't that better for you and your site? I see people can use "f***ing" over here but I get banned for I don't know why. Maybe it is a culture clash. Can you mail me the posts and the things you found wrong with them at shubbankar@gmail.com. Will be more than happy to learn and improve myself. Because I certainly believe that I did not write to take a snipe at anyone, not to a degree that you might have taken it.